Steelers CB James Pierre fills in on short notice as 'next man up’ in place of Joe Haden

If Sunday’s late-morning news that the Pittsburgh Steelers would be without Joe Haden was a surprise to Steelers fans, imagine what James Pierre must have been thinking when he was told he would be playing a significant role as an everydown outside cornerback in the home opener.

“I didn’t know until like 9 minutes before the game,” Pierre said.

Pierre more than doubled his career NFL regular-season snaps played by appearing in all 66 the Steelers had on defense during a 26-17 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Pierre entered the game with 58 career snaps played on defense, including 31 as the sixth defensive back during the Sept. 12 season opener at the Buffalo Bills.

A week later, Pierre was needed for much more than that after Haden had suffered a groin injury during the final practice of the week Friday. That left Pierre as the next man up against Las Vegas.

“The emotion was not too high or too low,” Pierre said of his first NFL start. “I just played with the team as a group. All of us played as one.”

Steelers CB James Pierre on facing former teammate Mike Hilton this week and how Hilton helped monitor him as a rookie last year pic.twitter.com/79V7qGeIA1

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 20, 2021

According to Pro Football Focus, Pierre was targeted four times, and all four passes were completed and accounted for 57 yards.

A 2020 undrafted free agent, Pierre made subtle inroads up the cornerback depth chart last season to the point that he was coming in with the dime subpackage by the postseason. During training camp this season, Pierre again outplayed former third-round pick Justin Layne to serve as the Steelers’ fourth cornerback.

Still, going from a role in the dime to an everydown player on such short notice could have been daunting.

“I prepare each week as if I am going to be the ‘1’ (starter),” Pierre said.

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